Fundamentals of ship maintenance and repair for

future marine engineers

Boris Butman
US. Merchant Marine Acacfemy
Kings Point, New York USA

Abstract

This pesetatio
is itended to emphasize the impo1iance of teaching the
sbjects related toship egineerig operations, d specitica11y ship
mainteance d epair (M&R), to aalyze the existing pactices in IAMU
member instittios, and to offe practical recommedatios. Althogh t shae
of mit d epair i the cost of ship operatio is substatially lowe
the, for instace, fel d w expeses, its crlative impact is quite
substatial. Besides the diect costs, this impact incldes related down time, that
educes 1eveues, delays casig lost oppotunity d i-eveue loss,
insfticiet qality of epairs, affectig ship peformance, and causig
mg epairs and down time. The fudametals of ship maitenance and
epair are examined trom tl1e standpoit of the tl1eoetical d practical
kowledge requied. The STCW d ot11er eqiremets are evaluated. \1
importance and expected outcornes of teachig tl1e subject is discssed as way
of ehancing the kowledge and providing needed edge i lading better
sailing job, and also possible ft job ashore, as poti engineer, as
kd pofessioal in shipyard and othe repair enterpise, as well as i
engineerig compaies. Vaios approaches to the problem discssed with
an t on the limitatios of the al1eady overloaded fo-year curicl11m

Keywords
i engineaing progmm, ship maintenance and repair (M&R) , components
(~f'engineering cu-iculum

Introduction

Despite t\1e effo1is of the IMO d the Maritime Comnity, the existing
curricla in many maitime scl10ols does t totalJy meet tl1e maitime industry's
need f specialists with itegated knowledge of specific engieering d
opeational disciplines. of the picipa l concens is elatively low
eadiness of the graduates to assue engineeing positions ashore: at shipyads,

138
in engineering companies, or shipowner's engineering departments. Maintenance
and repair (M&R) is the program component that varies quite substantially in its
scope and content. Many licensed marine engineers, who are starting their
careers with shipping companies, might soon perform port engineering
functions, coordinating maintenance and repairs of assigned ships. Today's
licensed marine engineering program should be designed to provide a
midshipman with a solid base in mathematics and science, humanities,
fundamental engineering science and specific marine engineering disciplines
along with knowledge in the management of ship maintenance and repair.
Keeping in mind that the demand for competent seafarers will grow in the
years to come, enhanced education and training are vital in meeting growing
demands and expectations of the maritime industry. The underlying reason for
the curricula development, or rather enhancement, is the need for system
approach to the maritime education. The engineering sector of the maritime
industry embraces not only the ships to be operated, but also the shipyards and
various ship repair facilities, engineering companies and ship designers,
equipment manufacturers, engineering departments of shipping companies, etc.
The ideal education for the high mobility workforce should provide enough
knowledge and skills for a comparatively comfortable adaptation in other areas
of the maritime system.

1 Operational impact of maintenance and repair (M&R)

Mission, design type and specific features, ship's registry and flag - all these
and some other issues affect the operational cost ofa ship. The crew cost differs
depending on the ship's complement and on the salary level. Obviously, for
open registry ships the crew cost is substantially lower than for the American
Flag ships. The same is true for the ships with automated engine rooms and
correspondingly reduced crews. Although the annual cost of fuel and lube oil
depends primarily upon the type and capacity of the propulsion plant and
auxiliary machinery, its share in the total operational cost varies substantially
reaching the maximumfor the reduced crew ships, especially in the case of extra
large tankers and cargo carriers. Using the example of an American registry
large cargo carrier, the fuel cost amounts to 25-35% and it increases to 45-55%
for the open registry ship.
Maintenance and repair expenses - the third major component of the
operational cost - is very low, about 5-7% of the total cost, when a new ship
enters the operation. However, it goes rapidly up to 15-20%, as the ship ages.
After the midlife has been reached, the maintenance and repair portion of
operational expenses might reach 25-30% and even more.As it has been noted
earlier, although the share of M&R in the cost of ship operations is
comparatively low, its cumulative impact appears to be quite significant. In the
following table, an attempt is made to assemble all significant factors related to

139
ship maintenance and repair, and their impact on ship operations, especially
when the M&Rmanagement is insufficient.

Table 1. Impact of M&Ron economics of ship operations

No M & R F a c to rs
1 M & R C ost
2 M & R D u ra tio n
3 M & R Q u a lity
4 S a fe ty
5 E n v iro n m e n ta l
6 M a rke tin g
Im p a c t o n E c o n o m ic R e s u lts o f S h ip O p e ra tio n s
- ac tu a l c o st o f M & R , th at c au ses re d u ctio n o f op e ratio n al
p ro fi t
- c o s t o f d e v ia tio n re q u ire d to d e liv e r a s h ip to a s h ip y a rd
o u ts id e o f th e n o rm a l a re a o f o p e ra tio n
- d o w n tim e a s a re su lt o f failure o r v oy ag e re p a irs
- n o n -o p eratio n a ltim e w h ile in a sh ip y a rd
- d e v ia tio n tim e fo r b rin g in g a s h ip to a re m o te s h ip
- s h ip 's d o w n tim e d u e to fa ilu re s a n d e m e rg e n c y re p a irs
re d u c e d s h ip 's e q u ip m e n t p e rfo rm a n c e a n d a s s o c ia te d
in c re a s e d o p e ra tin g c o s ts a n d re d u c e d re v e n u e s
- c rew ca su a ltie s an d asso cia te d d o w n tim e an d c o sts
- s e rio u s o c c u p a tio n a l inju rie s a n d c o rre s p o n d in g la w s u ite s ,
le g a lc o s ts a n d s u b s ta n tia l re w a rd p a y m e n ts
- fin e s a n d p en a ltie s fo r sea an d a ir p o llu tio n
- c re w p ro d u c tiv ity re d u c tio n a s a re s u lt o f h e a lth p ro b le m s
a n d jo b d is s a tisfa ctio n
- p o ss ib le ca rg o d am a g e s d u e to sh ip failu re s a n d d ow n tim e
- late c arg o d eliv e ry fo r th e s am e re a so n an d th e c o rre sp o n d in g
p en a lties a n d ev e n lo ss o f a cu s to m e r
- fa ilu re d o w n tim e c a u s in g lo s t o p p o rtu n ity a n d p o s s ib ly a
lo s s o f a c u s to m e r

2 Reasons for teaching ship maintenance and repair

The list of management subjects, related to ship maintenance and repair,
with which the marine professionals are dealing, is practically endless. Huge
resources are being spent to carry out maintenance procedures traditionally,
while modern computer based maintenance system can save a lot of labor and
material resources. The crew members should be taught these modern
management techniques.
Even more improvement might be expected when the reliability-centered
maintenance is introduced. The latter is defined as a systematic approach to
develop a focused, effective, and cost efficient preventive maintenance program
for such a complicated system, as a ship. It can be accomplished using a
structured decision tree, which leads to a selection of the most applicable
preventive maintenance tasks, and this way saves substantial resources. This
approach is based on a comprehensive theoretical foundation, which includes
good understanding of the reliability fundamentals coupled with the familiarity
with probability and statistics applications.
Another important area which requires proper college education is the
problem of spares on board. The ancient wisdom dictates to the chief engineer to

140
have as many spares as possible on board. On the other hand, the economic
consideration calls for the minimization of inventory. Today's engineering
graduates are not equipped with the modern methods of inventory management.
As a result, many ships that are ready to be scrapped, carry on board millions of
dollars worth of inventory; for example, one or two spare propellers, anchors,
sections of the propulsion shaft, variety of valves, pipes, fittings which can
hardly be sold for the face value, when the ship is retired. Therefore, when
adding spares to the ship's inventory, the engineers should be guided not only by
technical consideration, but also by economic reasons. For instance, the cost of
having certain spare part on board should be compared with possible economic
losses if it is delivered only when needed. And in many cases, this decision
should be made on board by the ship's engineer.
Lack of a proper justification of maintenance and repair actions should be
blamed for some negative results, when, for instance, choosing the best yard to
carry ship repairs. New on the market repair facilities are appearing on the map:
in China, Poland, India, Brazil, etc. More and more shipowners bring their aging
ships into remote yards with a substantial deviation from the normal area of
trading. A lot of mistakes have been made due to insufficient, or simply
inexistent management justification. Most of the shipowners concentrate on the
cost savings from the repairs leaving other variables not fully investigated:
losses due to deviation, possible increased duration of repairs, problems with
repair quality, etc. Lengthy delays and poor quality might add to the negative
results of the endeavor. For the American flag ships an additional huge expense
is added - custom dues on the cost of repairs done.
Another area where sufficient M&R background can save a lot of money is
the decision regarding the scope of upcoming shipyard repairs. How much
repairs to request from the yard? What is less expensive in a long run: to include
a certain item in the repair specification, to carry it next time, or to do it onboard
by the crew members or a riding team? All these questions represent typical
decision making situations when a properly laid-outjudgment is needed.
Organization and management of ship repairs in a shipyard is one more
subject, where appropriate management training is needed. After the ship has
been delivered to the shipyard, the primary concern of the owner's representative
is the constant changes of the work scope, which require making immediate
decision. First of all, the necessity of the change should be technically and
economically justified by comparing losses and benefits for two options: the
original work scope and the change.
Another important subject for consideration by the shipowner is the quality
of repairs. The shipowner does not have much leverage over the shipyard, when
it concerns the quality. However, the increased presence of the qualified owner
representatives at the yard is very effective in controlling it. The fact that more
monitoring is done allows to uncover the shipyard defects on time and to
prevent substantial financial losses. The shipowner might affect the quality of
repairs also by supplying certain materials and equipment. It is a common

141
practice for the shipyard to acquire most of material resources needed for
repairs. And the owners are normally in agreement with this practice. One of the
main reasons is that this way many possible shipyard's claims to the owner for
the cost adjustment due to alleged owner-caused delay might be eliminated.
However,whenthe economic analysis indicates that better materials, or painting
schedule, or equipment will bring substantial financial benefit in operations, the
shipowner might request the yard either to supply those better materials and
equipment for an additional cost, or to accept the owners supply.
An important reason for an enhanced training is the growing need to make
the marine engineering program more attractive for prospective cadets.
Nowadays, when a young manor womanis considering a maritime profession, a
couple of questions might pop up: What will happen to me if in a few years after
graduation I would not be able or would not want to sail any more? Will I be
prepared for a shoreside job? Additional industry oriented knowledge offered at
school might amplify the career path ashore. This consideration might appear a
decisive one in choosing the profession. If the question of a possible career
change appears in the future, enhanced training helps to get a positive answer.
These days, when the romantic attractiveness of the marine engineering
profession is getting weaker, the maritime colleges have to demonstrate to the
prospective cadets, that they are moving in the same directions as most of the
regular engineering colleges; that is, in the direction of an increased scope of the
industrial management component of the program.
Yet another important objective for improvement of the program exists: to
help the graduates to land a better first job. Added skills will put the graduates
ahead of the competition equipped only with traditional curriculum. The
statistics of the USMMA shows that a part of our engineering graduates never
sail, and a large percent of those who find sailing jobs after school, eventually
go ashore and assume various engineering positions. Enhanced knowledge of
current industry practices appears even more valuable for shoreside positions.
Especially, after a few years, when the former cadet gains certain experience and
is ready to assume a managementposition.
And finally, the subject of the program STCW certification: the
comprehensive international certification of the maritime schools and of their
graduates which has been initiated by IMO, includes certain competence in
maintenance and repair to be obtained by each graduate. The following table is
an excerpt from the STCW Code related to the subject.

142
 Table 2. M&R in STCW Code

ompetence Code, Knowledge,

b. understanding;
,

C
,
r and proficiency
Function 4: Maintenance and repair
Marine systems
4. 1 Safety and emergency procedures
Fundamentals of maintenance and repair

An enhanced M&R education is required for the lower level decision

making. As an example, wemight note the crew reduction efforts, which are still
among the most popular ways of cutting operational cost. On one side, this is a
technical problem: the ship should be prepared and capable to have the crew
reduced. On the other side, this decision brings up multiple management
problems and questions, and there is no guarantee that all crews are ready to
operate under reduced conditions. First of all, crew reduction changes the
functions and responsibilities of crew members, and the necessity to increase
efficiency of eveiy crew memberbecomes vital for the success of the program.
But in order to achieve it, crew members should be armed with knowledge of
this efficient methods.
A lot of functional changes are happening in the area of shoreside
engineering support. While it is true that the number of shipboard engineers is
decreasing due to automation, the total number of engineers required to operate
a ship has not been dropping accordingly. Certain functions of the reduced crew
should be performed now by engineers ashore, especially port engineers and
repair engineers. At the same time, the overall performance of the engineering
personnel at headquarters, as well as, the remaining crew members should
improve. In practice, every port engineer normally handles three or four large
ships with manned engine rooms; when dealing with unmanned engine rooms
the number drops to two or three ships. Moreover, engine room automation
leads to increased volume of shipyard repairs. In order to properly supervise
these ships an extensive knowledge in management of ship maintenance and
repair is required. In addition, ships are becoming more complex and more
automated. Chief Engineers, First Engineers, and Port Engineers are
increasingly responsible for managing a wide range of activities related to ship
operation, repair and maintenance, and would benefit from additional
managementeducation. The principal tasks related to the ship's operation and at
the same time dependent on the performance of the Engineering Department are
reduction of the cost offuel, and of repair and maintenance. Without giving the
crew members basic knowledge, which will allow them to take proper actions in
this area, it is hard to expect the most efficient decisions.

143
3 Additional knowledge required
Engineering programs are normally more condensed, and a commonbelieve
is that there is not enough time for anything else but the established curriculum.
The average length of a program, which leads to the Third Assistant (or just
Forth Engineer) license, is four years, including about a year of sailing.
However, there are three- year programs, on one side, and five-plus-year
programs, on the other side, like in Russia and Ukraine. The distribution of time
amongthe components of a program and the list of academic courses vary quite
substantially from country to country, and even among different schools of the
same country.
The author's analysis of the M&R related subjects in the existing marine
engineering programs shows the following maintenance-related component in
the curricula of over 20 maritime educational institutions (see the chart below).
Obviously, the longer programs allow for an increased scope of the M&R
component.
A pp ro xim a te A c ad e m ic H o u

30 %

25 %

20 %
I^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ H i
15 %

10 %

5%

0%
ab o ut 1 h o ur ab o ut 2 h o urs a b ou t 3 h ou rs ab o ut 4 h o urs
1
m o re th an 4 ho u rs

Figure 1. M&R subjects in the marine engineering programs.

What additional maintenance management knowledge is needed and what is

the relative importance of certain subjects to be considered? The discussion
below reflects the author's thinking and an attempt to prioritize various areas of
multi-functional education relative to a marine engineering curricula.
The very first subject to be considered is a general course in marine
engineering management, which might be a portion of the introductory to
profession package. As to the special subjects to be introduced, the highest
priority should be given to a series of courses in Ship Engineering Operations,
which includes ship maintenance and repair, materials, manufacturing processes,
basics of operation of shipyards and ship repair facilities. These courses

144
augmented with a two-month internship in a shipyard or a similar facility will
provide a solid foundation for a possible shoreside industrial employment. The
Table 3 outlines the principal content of the Ship Engineering Operations
course.
Table 3. Components of ENGINEERING SHIP OPERATIONS Course

No C o urse C o m p o n en ts
/ M a n ag em e n t of E ng n e er in g O p era tio ns
9 M a in te n a n ce a n d In ve n to ry C o n tro l M a n ag e m e n t
3 S h ip S u rvey s a n d In sp e ctio n s
4 S h ip R ep a ir a n d D ry d o ck in g
5 B a s ics o f S h ip R ep a ir F a cility O p e ra tio n
6 S afe ty o f S h ip E n g in e ering O p era tio n s a n d IS M
7 S h ip b o ard E c o n o m ics a n d C os t C o n tro l

4 Methods of enhanced training

The most popular and, possibly, the easiest way of amending the curriculum
is to develop special courses. Most schools have, at least, one mandatory
operations management course. Although, it provides certain fundamentals, it
does not add substantially to the practical applications of the theory in the
maritime industry. It is well known that any addition to existing programs is
almost impossible, unless they are offered as electives or overload.
Another way of inserting some M&Rsubjects into the curriculum is by
developing new or modernizing existing course projects and independent
studies. These projects should be prepared by the cadets either during their sea
service and apprenticeship period, or during the regular academic year. It might
be a design project which includes justification of the chosen alternative, or
development of the project management plan, or analysis of existing systems
and equipment and evaluation of possible changes, etc. At some schools, where
the in-class period exceeds three years (in Russia, Ukraine, China, for example),
a special diploma project or thesis is being prepared during almost the entire
semester. It appears to be a very useful tool of management training, and is
somewhat analogous to the senior thesis required at many of the best colleges in
theUS.
A comprehensive capstone design project is developed by the seniors of the
specialized Marine Engineering Management Program at the US Merchant
Marine Academy. One of the principal projects, which a team of four
midshipmen is working on during the entire senior year, is entitled SHIP
OVERHAUL PROJECT. The team uses a repair specification obtained during
the internship or provided by the Faculty Advisor. The principal modules of the

145
project are shown in the Table 4. After completing the project a graduate feels
very comfortable, when offered a job as an assistant port engineer, or as a
project engineer at a shipyard.
Table 4. Typical content ofa senior capstone design project
N o C a p ston e P roje ct M o d u le s an d T a sk s
1 D e velop m en t of a b id d in g p a c k ag e
1.1 . P re p arin g a dra ft rep a ir sp ec ifica tio n
1.2 . E stim atin g c o st an d settin g a b u d g e t
1.3 . F in a lizin g rep a ir sp e c ifi c ation
1 .4 . A p p ro x im atin g rep a ir d u ratio n
1 .5 . D ev e lop in g re q u est for p ro p o sa l
2 E co n o m ic e va lu a tio n a n d j u s tif ic a tio n
2 .1 . E co n o m ic ju stific atio n o f o v e rh a u l v s. scrap p in g
2 .2 . E co n o m ic ev a lu atio n o f sele ctio n o f a sh ip y ard
2 .3 . E co n o m ic ju stific atio n o f o v erh au l
3 P roj ec t m a n ag em en t stra teg y
3 .1. S electin g sc h e du le a ctiv itie s
3 .2 . E stim atin g sch e d u le a ctiv ity d u ratio n s
3 .3 . D ev elo p in g a d raft sch e d u le
3 .5 . O p tim iz in g sch e d u le
3 .6 . B alan c ing w o rk fo rc e
3 .7 . D e v elo p in g fin al sch ed u le
4 M o d ern iza ti o n p rop os als
4 .1. S ele ctin g p ro p o sa ls
4 .2 . P re lim ina ry d e sig n
4 .3 . E c o n o m ic e v a lu atio n o f pro p o sa ls
4 .5 . D e sig n c alcu latio n s an d sk etch e s
4 .6 . F in al d raw in g s an d d iag ram s
5 D e sig n of p ro d u ctio n p ro c esse s
5 . 1. B rea k in g d o w n in to o p eratio n s
5 .2 . P ro d u ction p ro ced u res
5 .3 . C a lcu latin g o p e ratio n ch ara cteristics
5 .4 . Id e ntify in g tim e ra te
6 S h ip y a rd c a p a c ity a n a ly sis
6 .1. S h ip y a rd m a ste r p ro d u ctio n p lan
6 .2 . W o rk fo rc e req u irem en ts
6 .3 . C ap a city o f p rin c ipa l fac ilitie s
6 .4 . S h ip y a rd m o d e rn iz atio n p ro po sa ls

Aninternship at a shipyard or a similar facility should be considered a vital

componentof a multi-functional program. All midshipmen enrolled into the
Marine Engineering ManagementMajor at the US Merchant MarineAcademy

146
are required to work two months in a real production environment. Most of them
either assist Project Manager at the shipyard, or work with a Port Engineer, who
is supervising an overhaul of his ship. The following is a short list of the
subjects the interns are required to learn or at least become familiar with:

" Shipyard preparations to performing the contract job

" Engineering support services
" Planning and scheduling ofa contract
" Management of construction and repair program and of individual
projects
" Organization and production methods in ship repair and overhaul
" Work outsourcing in repair and construction projects
" Principal capacities of the shipyard
" Material management:
" Modern ship repair and construction methods and procedures
" Quality control, testing and trials
An important component of the maritime educational system in some
countries is post-graduation training: after a certain period of sea service, the
officer returns to school for additional instructions in order to raise the
certification level. In our opinion, this is a very efficient way of improving the
qualification of officers by introducing them to all the latest changes and
developments in maritime practice. However, obvious financial and
organizational barriers do not allow this training to become a mandatory system,
which it definitely deserves to be. The experience of France, Belgium,
Indonesia, Israel, Russia and other countries supports this conclusion. A special
decision of an international body is long awaited in order to set unified
requirements for promotion of marine officers.
Until these unified requirements have been set, many schools are offering
various advanced courses to former graduates, not necessarily of their own
school. These are either refresher and retraining programs, for instance, from
steam to diesel, or special training based on new regulations and changed work
conditions. There are also various courses related to new equipment and
technology. That is when a special attention should be given to the M&R
management training. Moreover, some courses might be geared to a relatively
narrow area, like management of shipyard repairs, methods of reliability-
centered maintenance, etc. Incidentally, many companies are sending their
engineers to regular universities for management training on the continuing
education basis.

147
5 Conclusion

A variety of tasks being performed by the engineering graduates of the

maritime academies, who are either sailing or working ashore, require multi-
functional education related not only to ship operations, but in a great degree
also to shoreside jobs. Therefore, the basic knowledge of shipyards and other
manufacturing enterprises, as well as ability to manage ship maintenance and
repair, should be included into the curriculum of the maritime schools on a
substantially higher level and scope, than it is done now. However, providing
that the engineering license remains the first priority of any program, this task
puts a strenuous time limitations.
Therefore, the endless list of industrial management subjects and topics,
which are useful for the cadets, should be prioritized. And the highest priority
should be given to the subjects of ship engineering management and operations,
optimization of ship maintenance and repair, repair project management, etc.
Development and introduction of special courses in accordance with the priority
list is the simplest and most widely used method of M&R training. However,
due to time constraints in the program, these are mainly elective courses.
Industrial management training after graduation is quite popular in some
countries, and should be further developed. It would be very helpful if
aMaritime International Body develops uniform requirements to the
engineering programs and also to the promotion of the engineering officers.

References
[1 ] Boris Butman, Management and Economics in Marine Engineering
Curriculum, Proceedings of the 1 997 Transportation Operations,
Management and Economics Symposium, SNAME, New York, USA, 1997

[2] Capt. William T. Me Mullen, The Attitudes of American Merchant Marine

Officers Toward Some Aspects of Reduced Crewing Schemes on American
Vessels, Doctoral Thesis, University of Wales, 1993

[3] Everett C. Hunt and Boris S. Butman, Marine Engineering Economics and
Cost Analysis, Cornell Maritime Press, Centreville, 1 995

[4] Boris Butman, Economic Impact of Repairs on Ship Operations,

Proceedings of the Conference of the International Association of Maritime
Economists, Izmir, Turkey, 2004

148